The Indianapolis Colts take on the undefeated Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Monday Night game is scheduled to kickoff at 8:30 P.M. ET.
Last week, the Colts lost another game as favorites at home. The Colts are now 1-3 at home on the season. Prior to this season, the Colts added many veterans and were Super Bowl 50 favorites by many analysts. Almost half way through the season, the Colts might not even make the playoffs. They’re fortunate that the AFC South is the weakest division in football, so they still have a great chance to make the playoffs with a record of 7-9, but they’re not scaring anyone in the AFC.
Last week the Panthers went into Philadelphia and dominated the Eagles from start to finish. Cam Newton did not have his best passing day through the air. He threw one touchdown and three interceptions on the afternoon. He did, however, run in a score for two total touchdowns on the afternoon. The Panthers are the biggest surprise at 6-0 on the season. Their defense is one of the best in the league and the have two of the best linebackers in the game with Luke Kueckly and Thomas Davis. Against the Eagles, they had 24 tackles combined.
A player to watch on the Colts is Andrew Luck. So far this season, Luck continues to struggle with interceptions. Last week against the Saints, Luck threw two more interceptions. He now has a whopping nine interceptions to eleven touchdowns. He is completing only 56.2 percent of his passes on the year. Against a fierce Carolina defense, expect Luck’s passing woes to continue.
A player to watch for the Panthers is Jonathan Stewart. The Colts’ run defense ranks near the bottom of the league and Stewart’s coming off his best game of the season. The Panthers will certainly test the Colts on the ground early and often. If Indianapolis cannot find a way to stop the Panther’s ground game, then expect another lopsided defeat for the AFC South leading Colts.
The Panthers are a quiet 6-0 and not receiving the same attention as the other big name undefeated teams. And, perhaps that’s what motivates this team. They’re playing with a chip on their shoulder and attitudes that will serve them well come playoff time.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Colts are simply not a balanced football team. If there is such thing as a bad team that is loud, then this Colts team is it. They have one of the brightest young players in the league in Andrew Luck, and that is it. They have failed to add quality players around him through the draft and his front line has made him one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league. The Colts’ head coach, Chuck Pagano, is in the NFL’s hottest coaching seat. If the Colts somehow find a way to stumble into the playoffs, and it looks likely that they will, do not expect Pagano to avoid the axe this off-season.
Panthers Vs Colts Week 8 Betting Lines
BetOnline.ag currently has the Panthers as 7 point favorites in this game. The over/under on total points scored is 47. BetOnline is our top rated NFL sportsbook at the moment. You can read our full BetOnline review here.
My Pick
This game pits the Panther’s strength against the Colt’s weakness. This game definitely favors the Panthers at home as they try to extend their record to 7-0 on the season. Expect the Panthers to dominate the Colts in all phases of the game. The Panthers are not a high scoring team and if their defense holds the Colts to just a few points this game will still remain low scoring. Expect the Panthers to cover the spread but go with the under in this one.
Betting Week 8 • Colts • Monday Night Odds and Prediction • NFL • panthers